Conventional automotive vehicle emissions control technology provides for significant internal combustion engine emissions reduction under a range of operating conditions. Nonetheless, vehicle or engine operators continue to be empowered to avoid operating the engine within such ranges. In some instances, avoiding operating in such ranges is discretionary, in that operators could, and indeed would take steps to operate within such operating ranges if given a meaningful choice. In other words, if engine operators were instructed as to the emissions impact of operating outside of such operating ranges, affirmative steps would be taken in response to the instruction to remain within the operating ranges when reasonably possible.
For example, the emissions penalty associated with an engine cold start is significantly higher than the penalty associated with an engine warm start. Furthermore, certain discretionary high performance modes of engine operation include an emissions penalty due to a requisite deviation from a beneficial commanded engine air/fuel ratio to an air/fuel ratio corresponding to increased performance, increased engine and catalytic converter protection, and to increased emissions levels.
While prior approaches to internal combustion engine emissions reduction have, to an extent, relied on an assumption that the engine operator would likely operate the engine in a range in which the conventional emissions control technology applied to the engine would provide a significant benefit in emissions reduction, no information is provided to the engine operator to indicate whether the engine is indeed being operated in such a range.
Some attempts have been made to sense engine emissions on-board automotive vehicles. For example, on-board sensors of the emissions elements of HC, CO, and NOx have been proposed to monitor engine emissions directly. However, the cost of such sensors and their reliability in the necessarily harsh environment in which they typically operate persist as barriers to their widespread use.
Furthermore, raw sensor information alone does not guide typical engine operators as to how to alter their driving behavior so as to improve engine emissions. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide reliable information at low cost to the vehicle or engine operator or to a third party on whether the engine is being operated in a manner supportive of the emissions control technology provided therewith, so that corrective action may be taken when reasonably possible.